IPART is reviewing the maximum prices that Central Coast Council (CCC Water) can charge customers to provide water, wastewater, and related services. The prices we set in this review will apply from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2031.
IPART no longer determines prices that Central Coast Council can charge to provide stormwater drainage services. Under a separate process, IPART is also reviewing Central Coast Council’s special variation application to include the charge for stormwater drainage services on the rate notice from 1 July 2026, for ratepayers who currently pay the charge with their water and wastewater bill.
We recognise that access to safe, reliable and affordable water at a fair price is critical to our communities, environment and economy
Customers should pay only what CCC Water requires to efficiently deliver the services its customers need. Our aim is to hold CCC Water accountable in a way that delivers good short, medium, and long-term customer outcomes.
Under the IPART Act, when reviewing water prices, we are required to consider a range of matters, including:
- the cost of providing the service
- consumer protection against abuse of monopoly power by a water utility
- the need to promote competition in the supply of the service
- the need for greater efficiency in the supply of the service to reduce costs to consumers and taxpayers
- appropriate rates of return on public sector assets
- the social impact of our determinations
- the need to maintain ecologically sustainable development and protect the environment.
We have published our Draft Report
Under our draft maximum prices, bills for typical household customers (using 170kL per year) receiving water and wastewater services would increase in 2026-27 by 8.7% plus inflation, or 11.9% including our estimate of inflation, and then with inflation only for the following 4 years. CCC Water proposed that the typical household bill increase in 2026-27 by 7.8% plus inflation, or 11.0% including estimated inflation, and then with inflation only for the following 4 years.
Under our proposed prices, the typical household using 170 kL per year would see their water and wastewater bills increase by:
- $129 (or 8.7%) to $1,612 in 2026-27 before inflation, then by inflation only in each subsequent year to 2030-31
- $176 (or 11.9%) to $1,659 in 2026-27 including estimated inflation, then by inflation only in each subsequent year to 2030-31.
The typical customer bill in 2025-26 is $1,483.
The increases in our proposed draft prices reflect our assessment of the efficient costs for CCC Water to deliver its water and wastewater services over the next 5 years.
In reaching our draft decisions, we considered independent expert advice from Arup/HoustonKemp and all feedback received from stakeholders at our Public Hearing, through submissions to our Issues Paper and from survey results. The report by Arup/HoustonKemp is available on our website.
You can provide feedback on our draft decisions and recommendations until 1 May 2026 by making a submission or completing our customer survey.
You can use our bill calculator to find out what our draft decisions could mean for your bills.
The following links provide more information on how we review and determine water prices and about the water businesses that we regulate.